Your first session typically focuses on understanding your goals, assessing your current strengths and weaknesses, and establishing a study plan. Varsity Tutors connects you with a tutor who will likely review your practice test results, discuss which graduate programs you're targeting, and determine whether you need more help with Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, or Analytical Writing. This foundation helps your tutor tailor instruction to your specific needs from day one.

Timing is one of the biggest challenges on the GRE, especially for the Quantitative section where complex problems can consume valuable minutes. A tutor can teach you strategic approaches like identifying which questions to tackle first, recognizing time-consuming problem types, and knowing when to make an educated guess and move on. Practice tests are essential for building this skill—your tutor will help you analyze your pacing patterns and adjust your approach section by section.

Most students benefit from a balanced approach that prioritizes weak areas while maintaining skills in stronger sections. If you're struggling significantly with Reading Comprehension but solid in Quantitative, your tutor might spend 60% of time on Verbal and 40% on Quant to maximize score improvement. However, don't neglect the Analytical Writing section entirely—many programs care about this score, and a tutor can help you develop a clear essay structure that works under timed conditions.

Most students benefit from taking 4-6 full-length practice tests spaced throughout their study period, with the last one about a week before the actual GRE. This approach gives you enough data to identify patterns in your mistakes without causing burnout. Your tutor can help you interpret practice test results to spot whether you're making careless errors, misunderstanding concepts, or running out of time—each requires a different fix.

Test anxiety often stems from uncertainty about what to expect or lack of confidence in your abilities. A tutor builds confidence through repeated exposure to authentic GRE question types, timed practice, and clear explanations of your thought process. Understanding the test format deeply, having a solid study plan, and practicing under realistic conditions all reduce anxiety significantly—you'll feel more in control on test day.

Most students preparing for the GRE benefit from 8-12 weeks of study with 1-2 tutoring sessions per week, combined with independent practice between sessions. Your timeline depends on your target score, starting point, and how much time you can dedicate to studying outside of tutoring. Varsity Tutors can connect you with a tutor who will help you create a realistic schedule that fits your life while keeping you on track for your application deadline.

The GRE features specific question types you won't see on other standardized tests: Reading Comprehension with multiple-select questions, Quantitative Comparison problems, and Data Interpretation sets. Many students struggle initially because these formats reward different strategies than they're used to—for example, on Quantitative Comparison, you're comparing two quantities rather than solving for a specific answer. A tutor can break down each format, show you the most efficient approach, and give you targeted practice until these question types feel familiar.